Airbnb targets Asia

The co-founder of Airbnb started coding at the age of 12 and launched an online marketing business while in high school with clients in over 20 countries. After moving on to several jobs in engineering, Mr Blecharczyk took a calculated risk and joined two friends to start Airbnb in 2008 - the same time the financial crisis was in full swing. Airbnb has roughly 100,000 listings in China, where it faces stiff competition from other online short-term rental platforms, especially Tujia.com which has more than 400,000 listings. While Mr Blecharczyk didn't discuss this, a spokeswoman for the firm says: "The governments we work with understand the benefits of Airbnb to their cities... But it can take time for legislation to catch up to new innovations." If you find yourself renting an Airbnb in San Francisco, you may find Mr Blecharczyk delivering you fresh towels to the residence.